Horseshoe



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

VILLIAM J. KENT, OF BROOKLYN, NEV YORK.

HORSESHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,344, dated January21, 1896.

Application filed April 27, 1895. Serial No. 547,300. (No model.)

T all whom it Heeey concern:

Beit known that LVILLIAM J. KENT, a citizen of the United States,residing in Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Horseshoes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to horseshoes, and may be employed in connectioneither with such shoes when constructed for general use or with those ofspecial construction known as racing-plates.

The invention aims to provide an improved horseshoe which shall aord asufficient grip in use, possess great strength, and be of relativelyliglit weight. To this end in carrying out the invention in itspreferred forni I construct the horseshoe with a longitudinal grippingedge at the outer side of its bottom face, an upwardly-extending grooveat the inner side of said edge, nail-holes through the body of the shoeat said groove, a second or inner gripping edge at the inner side ofsaid groove and of less projection than the outer gripping edge, and anupwardly and inwardly inclined bottom face between the innergripconstruct the bottom face, B, of the shoe with a longitudinal ridgeor edge a at the outer side of the face and constituting the lowermost ppart thereof, which serves as the bearing and gripping edge for thebottom face of the shoe, and preferably is a continuous edge or calliextending throughout substantially the entire length of the shoe. In itspreferred forni the shoe is also constructed with a deep groove bimmediately at the inner side of the edge u, which groove is preferablysubstantially V- shaped in cross-section, extends upwardly well into thebody of the shoe, and is preferably a continuous groove extendinglongitudinally of the shoe throughout substantially its entire length. Ialso prefer, according to my present improvement, to construct thebottom face of the shoe with a second and inner gripping edge orbearing-ridge, c, which is preferably immediately at the inner side ofthe groove b, of slightly less downward projection than the outer edge,a, substantially parallel with the latter, and a continuous ridge pingedge and the inner side ot the shoe, and I provide certain otherfeatures of improvement, which will be hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of myinvention as applied to a shoe or plate for the hind foot of a horse,Figure l is a bottom face view of the shoe. Fig. 2 is an edge viewthereof. Fig. 8 is a section thereof on the line 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. 4is a section thereof on the line 4 4E of Fig. l 3 and Fig. 5 is adiagrammatic view showing the position of the shoe as it strikes theground. l

Referring to the drawings, let A indicate the body of the shoe; B, thebottom face thereof; C, the top face thereof; D, the front face'thereof; E, the inner side thereof; F, the heels thereof; G, the toethereof, and II the nail-holes through the body.

The body of the shoe may be constructed of any suitable metal or metals.Its bottom face contacts with the ground in use, and serves as theworking face of the shoe, while its top face is a flat or otherwisesuitablyformed face, adapted to seat against the or edge extendingthroughout substantially the entire length of the shoe. Inwardly of thesecond gripping edge, c, and between the latter and the inner side ofthe shoe, I prefer to provide a wide upwardly and inwardly incliningbottom wall d.

The outer edge, u, is at the outer side of the shoe, receives thegreater portion of the wear and strains of use, and distributes thestrains upwardly throughout the outer portion of the top face, C, whilethe inner edge, o, is disposed about centrally of the bottom face of theshoe, receives a minor portion of the strains and wear of use, andtransmits such portion upwardly to the central part of the top face, andthe wide inclined bottom wall, d, fills the space between the inneredge, c, and the inner side E of the shoe, affords a broad bearing whenthe shoe rests on soft or muddy ground, and by reason of its gradualinclination prevents mud from catching within the shoe. The groove haffords an. advantageous point for the location of the nail-holesII,which are punched through the thin metal of the body between the topof the groove and the top face, and the IOS groove suiiices to receivethe nail-heads when the shoe is nailed to the hoof. The two walls of thegroove are preferably oppositely inclined or diverging walls, e at itsouter side and f at its inner side, connected at top by a flattened orrounded flat wall g. The nailholes traverse the top wall of the groove,and its diverging side walls permit the inclination of the nail eitheroutwardly or inwardly as it is being driven, whereby the particulardirection of driving the nail can in each instance be adjusted to therequirements of thehorses hoof without the necessity of twisting ordistorting the shoe.

The outer wall, e, is preferably more nearly vertical than the innerwall, f, as this affords a more advantageous surface at the rear of thegripping edge a and is better adapted to the necessary inclinations ofthe nails when being driven. The gripping edge a consists preferably ofa narrow edge between the downwardly and usually inwardly inclined wallD of the shoe and the downwardly and usually outwardly inclined wall eof the groove, the edge being at or near the point where these wallsconverge,whereby between the upwardly-diverging portions of the wallsthere is above the gripping edge a mass of metal of substantiallytriangular cross-section, constituting the outer portion of the body ofthe shoe. The inner edge, c, is preferably formed by the downwardly andinwardly inclined rear wall, f, of the groove and the downwardly andoutwardly inclined bottom wall, d, being disposed at or near the pointat which these walls converge, so that above this edge there is a massof metal of substantially triangular cross-section, constituting thebody or inner portion of the shoe. portions of the body of the shoe areconnected by the thin metal neck between the groove o and the top face.The bottom face, d, preferably extends in the plane of a line angular tothe top and front faces and intersects the former and the gripping edge.

When it is desired that the shoe shall have projecting heel-calks, thesemaybe provided in any manner-as, for example, by folding the heels ofthe shoe backward and welding the heel ends onto the body.

In operation the outer gripping edge will be subjected to the greaterstrains and perform most of the effective work in affording a iirm gripon the ground. As the horse runs the gripping edge will strike theground at the toe, as shown in Fig. 5. In thus striking, any tendency tooverturning of the edge backward will be resisted by the inclined wallat its rear, the inclination of which will preferably be such as to thenbring it into line with the direction of thrust as the hoof strikes theground. At the forward thrust of the hoof the tendency to forwardrolling of the edge will be resisted by the front wall, D, which forthis purpose is preferably inclined slightly inwardly.

It will be seen that my invention provides The outer and innerimprovements in horseshoes which can be conveniently and advantageouslyavailed of for either shoes designed for ordinary or special uses, aseither road-shoes or racing-plates,

and which increase the effectiveness and strength of the shoe and thefacility with which it can be applied without increasing its weight orcost.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the exactdetails of construction and arrangement set forth and shown asconstituting its preferred form, since these can be modified ascircumstances or the judgment .of those skilled in the art may dictatewithout departing froni the spirit of the invention.

What I claim isl. A horse-shoe having a top bearing and a bottom face,an outer wall' extending from said bearing to its bottom face, andhaving on its bottom face a gripping edge at the outer wall of the shoe,an upwardly extending groove at the inner side of said edge, nail holesthrough the body of the shoe at said groove, and an inwardly andupwardly inclined bottom wall at the inner side of said groove, saidgripping edge being of greater downward projection than said bottomwall, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A horse-'shoe having a top bearing and a bottom face, an outer wallextending from said bearing to its bottom face, and having at thejunction of. said outer wall and the outer side of its bottom face acontinuous longitudinal gripping edge, immediately within said edge acontinuous longitudinal upwardly extending groove, nail holes throughits body in the line of said groove, and at the inner side of saidgroove a second gripping edge of less downward projection than saidouter gripping edge, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A horse-shoe having a substantially iiat top face, a downwardlyextending outer face, extending from said top face to the lowest part ofthe shoe, a narrow gripping edge at the lower extremity ofV said outerface, an upwardly and inwardly inclined wall extending from saidgripping edge toward said top face, a downwardly and inwardly inclinedwall extending from said wall downwardly, and an inwardly and upwardlyinclined bottom face meeting said downwardly and inwardly inclined wallat a point above the plane of said gripping edge, and extending thenceinwardly and upwardly, meeting the top face of the shoe and constitutingthe inner edge thereof, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. A horse-shoe having on its bottom face two longitudinal grippingedges, the one inwardly of the other and substantiallyparalleltherewith, diverging upwardly extending walls leading from said edgestoward the top face of the shoe, and a groove between said edges, nailholes through the shoe in the line of said groove, said inner grippingedge being of less downward projection than said outer IOO IIO

ping edge at the junction of said bottom face and groove, said outerface extending continuously and uninterrnptedly from said top 15 face tosaid gripping edge, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM J. KENT. Witnesses:

GEORGE H. FRASER, THOMAS F. WALLACE.

